Export orders last month expanded 43.8 percent year-on-year to US$76.2 billion, the 11th straight month of double-digit percentage growth and the highest for a single month, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
The figure was a 4.4 percent increase from the previous month, exceeding the ministry’s estimate of US$72 billion to US$74 billion, driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing applications, Department of Statistics Director-General Huang Wei-jie (黃偉傑) told a news conference in Taipei.
Export orders last quarter rose 35.9 percent year-on-year to US$218.63 billion and surged 26 percent to US$743.73 billion for the year, a record high and exceeding the ministry’s forecast of US$738.7 billion to US$740.7 billion.
Photo: I-Hwa Cheng, AFP
Last year, global economic activity was weighed down by tariff uncertainties, but the AI supply chain was largely spared and emerged as a key growth driver, Huang said.
Electronic components and information and communications technology (ICT) products accounted for more than 90 percent of last year’s export order growth, he said.
Traditional industries continued to bear the brunt of oversupply from China as well as the impact of tariffs, he added.
The ministry expects momentum from AI-related demand to remain strong this year, driven by continued global investment in AI infrastructure, while Taiwan is also set to benefit from lower US tariffs announced last week, putting the nation on equal footing with Japan, South Korea and the EU, Huang said.
The new tariff rate of 15 percent, down from last year’s 20 percent, is also expected to give Taiwanese hand tool and plumbing hardware makers a competitive edge over rivals in China and Vietnam, he said.
The ministry has received positive feedback from traditional industries — including machine tool, machinery and auto parts makers — following the announcement of the new tariff rate, he said.
However, as the agreement has yet to be formally signed by Taiwan and the US, whether its impact will be fully reflected in actual trade performance warrants close observation, Huang added.
The ministry projected export orders this month to reach US$70 billion to US$72 billion, or an annual increase of 45.7 percent to 49.9 percent, he said.
Export orders soared 39.9 percent year-on-year for electronic components last month, surged 88.1 percent for ICT products, rose 17.2 percent for machinery products and increased 13.1 percent for optoelectronic products, ministry data showed.
Orders fell across the board in the traditional industries, down 8.2 percent for plastic and rubber products, 2.5 percent for base metals and 0.4 percent for chemical products, it showed.
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